Jayapura

Papua's capital on the north coast of New Guinea, with bark-painting villages and the festival on Lake Sentani, the beaches of Humboldt Bay, the red Youtefa Bridge and MacArthur's WWII relics.

Jayapura sits on the north coast of New Guinea as the capital of Indonesia's Papua Province, right next to the Papua New Guinea border. The city lies on Humboldt Bay, ringed by green mountains such as the Cycloop range. Known as Hollandia in the Dutch colonial era, it hosted General MacArthur's Southwest Pacific headquarters in World War II. It is also the air hub for trips into the highlands, such as the Baliem Valley (Wamena). The climate is tropical rainforest – hot and humid year-round – with relatively less rain from Jun–Sep, the best time to travel; the Lake Sentani Festival around June is the highlight of the year. Sightseeing falls into three areas: in the west, around Sentani town where the airport is, take a boat on Lake Sentani, visit the bark-painting village on Asei Island, climb Mount Ifar to the MacArthur Monument for lake views, and head northwest on a day trip to the stone village of Tablanusu; in the city, there's the city-sign hill lookout, Base G Beach, Hamadi Beach and its handicraft market, and the Cenderawasih University museum; the eastern route crosses the red Youtefa Bridge and passes Holtekamp Beach to the Skouw border crossing with PNG. Getting there: flights from Jakarta, Makassar, Bali and elsewhere land at Sentani Airport, about 40 km from the city, roughly 1 hour by taxi. Getting around is by public minibus, taxi and motorbike taxi; sights are spread out, so a chartered car saves time. Plan to stay 2–3 days. The situation in Papua can change, so check travel advisories before you go; foreign visitors need a travel permit for some inland areas, and always ask before photographing local people.

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